Mechanism for continuously producing, drying, and packaging spaghetti and like dough-string articles in equal quantities or weights



2,622,545 DRYING, AND -STRING Dec. 23, 1952 Q HUMMEL MECHANISM FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING,

PACKAGING SPAGHETTI AND LIKE DOUGH ARTICLES IN EQUAL QUANTITIES OR WEIGHTS 2 SHEETSSHEET l Filed Nov. 20, 1947 Dec. 23, 1952 c, HUMMEL 2,622,545

MECHANISM FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING, DRYING, AND PACKAGING SPAGHETTI AND LIKE DOUGH-STRING ARTICLES IN EQUAL QUANTITIES OR WEIGHTS ooooooooooo0oooooooT I L I I Head A 70 E 2 IGFIG 9 9 CL V (Z 7/. a V a f (x /Vl '/V7'0R.'

Patented Dec. 23, 1952 MECHANISM FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUC- ING, DRYING, AND PACKAGING SPA- GHETTI AND LIKE DOUGH-STRING AR- TICLES IN EQUAL QUANTITIES OR WEIGHTS Charles Hummel, Uzwil, Switzerland, assignor to Gebriider Biihler, Uzwil, Switzerland Application November 20, 1947, Serial No. 787,234 In Switzerland November 28, 1946 1 Claim.

My present invention relates to improvements in mechanisms for continuously packaging spaghetti and like dough-string articles in equal quantities or weights; and the main object of my improvements is to provide means for combining the successive operations of extruding, cutting, distributing, drying and packaging on a single machine frame.

According to my present invention, the dough strings being discharged from the delivery openings of the die-expressing molding apparatus, are arranged in individual loops on spaced carrier bars which are movable in a closed track, subdivided in groups so that each group contains a definite number of looped strings of definite length (and thus of definite weight), each such group being delivered into a paper box or bag to form a package.

The mechanism according to my present invention comprises means for subdividing the dough strings into groups so that the said strings are arranged in groups on the carrier bars moving on an endless conveyer, and further means for delivering each said group of strings into a paper box or bag.

One form of mechanism for carrying out my presentinvention is schematically shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a vertical section through the mechanism,

Fig. 2 an elevation in direction of arrow A in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 a cross-section on line IIIIII of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 a portion of Fig. 2, but in which the cut spaghetti loops have dropped from the carrier bar and their rank closed,

Fig. 5 a cross-section through the two juxtaposed conveyers at a point where the pack of spaghetti is transferred from its tray into a paper box or bag which is open at one end,

Figs. 6a and 6b show one form of die-expressing molding apparatus for subdividing the dough strings into groups, in plan view and elevation respectively,

Figs. 6c, 6d and 6e a second form thereof, in plan view, elevation and side view,

Fig. 7 shows a detail modification of Fig. l, in which the chute for the bundled cut spaghetti loops is omitted, i. e. in which the spaghetti are delivered directly into the trays of the conveyer; and

Fig. 8 a detail modification, in which the groups of cut spaghetti loops are delivered in non-closed rank (i. e. without passing through the constricting device shown in Figs. 2-4) into the chute leading to the tray conveyer.

-In Fig. 1, the dough is pressed from a dis- ,tributor tube l in Fig. 6d) into a die-expressing mold 2, from which one row of dough strings ft (Figs. 6c, 6:1) or two adjacent rows of staggered dough strings ft (Figs. 6a, 6b) are downthen cut off by knife 4 so as to sit astride of the bars 5 in loops ds. Bars 5 are engaged at their ends or form part of a chain conveyer, of

which only one chain, -6, is shown in Fig. 1, and

are moved step by step, in timed relation with knife 4, by a motor M which intermittently drives a shaft 7 and two sprocket wheels I through a drive gear aj (including a Geneva motion 0, d). The chains 6 run over a plurality of idling rollers 8 so as to afford a length of track sufiicient for drying the looped strings ds, and to move the bars 5 in the appropriate direction underneath the knife 4. It is to be understood that a plurality of groups of strings ds are mounted on the bars 5. The mechanism mentioned so far is mounted on the frame F.

As shown in Figs. 6c-e, the dough pressed from the distributing tube I into the die 2 and out therefrom forms single strings which are deflected into groups (of width 12 separated by interstices o) by the prongs or lugs 9 of a rake l0 which is secured to the underside of die 2. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 6a, and 6b, however, no such deflection rake is provided for, since the strings spring from die 2 subdivided into groups (of width 12 separated by interstices v), the strings delivered from the rear row of perforations in die 2' being mounted on the bars 5 intermediate of the strings delivered from the front row of perforations. Since each group comprises substantially equal amounts of strings ,ft, which latter are substantially of equal diameter and length, the weights of the spaghetti in each group are substantially equal.

After the looped strings ds have been carried on the bars 5 by the chain conveyers 6 over a distance sufiicient to become dry, a long knife H extending over the full width of bars 5, cuts the looped strings ds into two strings ds. Knife H, is fixed to one arm of two or more levers l2 which are secured to an axle lZa which in its turn is mounted rockable in frame F. The other arm of levers l2 carries a roller l2b, which is engaged by a cam 14 secured to a crankshaft l5 which is mounted rotatable in frame F and is rotated from a motor m through a belt a and a pulley 1). Knife H thus is brought into the cutting position, i. e. rocked down onto the respective bar 5, whenever the latter has arrived in the appointed position.

Immediately before such latter position will be reached, the lower end of the strings ds strikes against the fixed board W, and the strings are pushed together groupwise on bar (Fig. 2). The group of strings arriving underneath knife ll, still have a width 1.: and are separated by spaces '0. After the rank of the strings 01.9 has been closed, as desired, on bar 5, the knife ll enters into action to out each looped string ds into two strings .ds'. The rank-closing gear for each group of strings ds is built and operated as follows.

A connecting rod [5 is journaled at its upper end to crank-shaft l5, and at its lower end pivoted to a swing arm I! pinned to a rock-shaft 58 which is mounted on frame F.' A link 19 at one end is pinned to rock-shaft l8, and slotted at its other end to loosely engage a stud secured to a reciprocating rod 2!] which is guided in rings W secured to board W (Figs. 1-4). An upper and a lower axle pin 22 (Fig. 3) are mounted rotatable on board I, beside the two side walls 24 which confine each group of strings ds or ids respectively. The said board W extends over the full length of the rods 5, and is secured to frame F. An arm 23 at one end is pivoted to the upper and lower portion each of each side wall 24, and at its other end is pinned to axle pin 22. Two spaced parallel flat arms 2! also are pinned at one end to each axle pin 22, and at their free ends are slotted to loosely engage a stud secured to the reciprocating rod 28 and projecting through the latter. When the reciprocating rods 20 are moved downward by the links IS, the axle pins 22 are rocked through the arms 2i, and the arms 23 are swung from their position shown in Fig. 2 into that shown in Fig. 4, thus moving the two sides 24 of each group of strings ds. It is at this moment that the above mentioned cutting action of knife II is released. When rods 29, subsequently, are moved upward, the groups of strings ds (the rank of which has been closed) are released from their constricting sides, and slide through the hopper 24 and down the chutes 25 into the trays 26 which are mounted on a chain conveyer 21.

The latter is moved by the chain wheels 28 which are driven from a sprocket 29 mounted on the wheel axle 30. The trays 26 are open in front and in the rear, and the conveyer 21 is driven in step with the cutting gear I l-l5 and with the rank-closing gear l624 described.

Another chain conveyer 2'! to which the plates 3! having upturned rear flanges 31' are secured, is moved by the chain wheels 28' alongside the chain conveyer 27. The conveyer 27 is driven through a sprocket 29 which is mounted on the chain-wheel axle A stationary partition B, provided with spaced openings B (of approximately the same width as the trays 26) is disposed intermediate of the two conveyers 2l39 and -27'30'. Paper boxes or bag-like cont,ain ers X are disposed on the plates 35 in abutment against the flanges 3 l and spaced in accord with the bundles of stringsds. When the full trays 4 26 on conveyer 21 have arrived in front of the openings B of the stationary partition B (Fig. 5) the plungers 33 which are secured to the rod 32, are moved in direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 5, and the bundles of strings 11s are pushed into the boxes or bags X on conveyer 2'l'3l'.

In the modification shown in Fig. 7, the bundles of strings ds are delivered directly into the trays 26 of conveyer 2l-30, i. e. the chute 25 (Fig. 1) is omitted. The conveyer in this case has to be sharply tilted as shown.

In the modification shown in Fig. 8, the cut strings ds are held in their original arrangement, i. e. the rank-closing gear l5-24 is omitted. In this case, the cut looped strings drop drown the inclined board W, being deflected on their way into groups of width u and separated by spaces 12 by the deflecting ribs D.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

Apparatus for preparing strings of dough such as spaghetti and macaroni for packaging, comprising an extrusion press die for extrusion of strings of dough, said die having rectilinearly arranged groups of extrusion openings of identical size, said groups of openingsbeing spaced further apart than the individual openings of each group, each group containing a predetermined number Of openings to produce a number of strings of predetermined weight suitable for charging a package of predetermined size, conveying means for carrying horizontally extending rods underneath said extrusion die and through a drying atmosphere, whereby the extruded strings of dough will loop over said rods in a plurality of groups of strings corresponding to said groups of extrusion openings; means for cutting said strings into equal length, means for cutting said strings on said rods in two at the looped portion of the strings upon the rods leaving said drying atmosphere whereby the strings fall from the rods, a plurality of chutes disposed to collect separately each group of strings discharged from the rods, said chutes having means for contracting laterally the ranks of strings of each group, and conveying means at the discharge end of said chutes for transporting each group of strings to a packaging place.

CHARLES HUMMEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

